New Year’s Resolutions – the tradition that everyone dreads, participates in, and then mourns each and every year. While these yearly goals technically symbolize the opportunity to grow and stretch beyond our current situation in life, they’ve come to be somewhat of a joke among the general public. It’s almost guaranteed that each year, about halfway through January, some news agency will run a piece about how a large percentage of goal-setters have already abandoned their dreams. Here at Next Level Goal Setting, we’re huge goal setting fans but lukewarm New Year’s resolutions fans – let’s talk about why.
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New Year’s Resolutions – They Feel Forced
New Year’s resolutions almost feel like a rite of passage. Everyone makes goals simply because their friends, family, or society are doing it. The truth is, too many people feel forced into participating in goal creation each December or January. This leads to a lack of motivation and ultimately failure to achieve what is desired. When it comes to setting goals, an individual must be motivated internally to follow through or it’s a pointless exercise. Goal setting shouldn’t be something you do simply because you have FOMO but something you actively crave to get done. And who says that January is the only goal setting season of the year? You should feel confident creating goals no matter what month or season it is.
They Occur Too Infrequently
New Year’s resolutions taken place one per year (duh). While yearly goal setting is important, daily, monthly, and weekly goals are also crucial for achieving our bigger dreams. Many people utilize the new year as a signal that they should think about what they want in the coming months. But what happens when they fall short of their goals one or two months into the year? Should they wait another 10 months until January rolls around again? No! If you’re just getting interested in effective goal setting, know that you can start right now. You don’t need to wait until next January, next month, or even next week – you can start today. What’s more, you should engage in goal setting often, revising and modifying your goals to fit your abilities.
They’re Too Vague
I mention in the introduction to Next Level Goal Setting that my first experience creating resolutions was when I was a child/preteen. Each December we would right our goals for the coming year down on a small piece of lined paper that my mom would hold onto until the next year. My 10-year-old self’s goals were the perfect illustration of the mistake most people make with their New Year’s resolutions – they’re much too vague. Things like “save money for a bike” were well-intentioned but pretty ineffective. How much did I need to save? When did I need to save it by? How was I going to earn money? I’m not the only one who suffered from vagueness. Many of us create goals like “lose 10 pounds” each year but fall short when it comes time to reach the finish line. Instead, goals should be concise but also thorough, explicit, and detailed. They should follow the SMART goal setting framework that I’ve written about previously. Lastly, they should have a defined endpoint so that you can gauge your progress throughout the year.
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